---------------------------------------------------------- Taylorcraft-List Digest Archive --- Total Messages Posted Tue 11/26/13: 1 ---------------------------------------------------------- Today's Message Index: ---------------------- 0. 12:40 AM - Of Pencils & Airplanes [Repost From AeroElectric-List]... (Matt Dralle) ________________________________ Message 0 _____________________________________ Time: 12:40:44 AM PST US From: Matt Dralle Subject: Taylorcraft-List: Of Pencils & Airplanes [Repost From AeroElectric-List]... [Dear Listers, last week, Bob Nuckolls of the AeroElectric fame, posted a very nice message discussing the Lists and Forums at Matronics. It is a very insightful piece and I asked Bob if I could forward it to the rest of the Lists for the other members to enjoy and contemplate as well. He gladly agreed, and so below I have included the text from that message. Enjoy. -Matt Dralle, Matronics Email List and Forum Administrator] "As most of you know, Matt's ISP was fiddling with some crucial details for the exchange of data on the 'net a few weeks ago. The Lists, Matt's business site, and AeroElectric.com got really flakey. . . I was 'unhooked' from the List and all of three of my e-mail services for several days. Out of business and out of touch. After two days, I was beginning to worry. I had no idea as to root cause nor was there a time table for resolution . . . I began to mull over plan-B options. Of course, plan-B would have entailed seeking a new home for aeroelectric.com and ancillary services. NOT a quick, inexpensive or happy thing to contemplate. The time talents and resources that go into fabrication and maintenance of some of the 'simplest' features of our lives often go unnoticed . . . not because they're unappreciated . . . but simply because we're unaware of their significance. I will invite you all to read an essay by one Leonard Read written in 1958 titled "I pencil". See: http://tinyurl.com/me3q3hj It's a fascinating and well crafted peek into a society of unacquainted, self-interested individuals who exploited uncountable windows of opportunity for what has been called "spontaneous order" in the manufacture and sales of the simple wood pencil. The point of citing Mr. Read's essay is to examine two features of the human experience that contribute to the success of this List and our various interests in airplanes. The first point I'd like to make is that we cannot know the millions of individuals who contributed to the materials and infrastructure that make this List possible. We sit at the top of a pyramid of work-product derived from the time, talents and resources of millions of people who we'll never know. Another feature I'd like to emphasis is our ignorance of the criticality for any single component for a host of materials and components for the manufacture and sales of a simple pencil or an affordable airplane. Suppose any one of the materials or processes described in Read's essay were simply unavailable. How would that impact the price of a pencil? Would the pencil even continue to exist at it's new price? The really big question is, "How might some seemingly small loss ripple throughout the economy of our existence?" The time, talent and resources that support infrastructure for this List, my website, Matt's website, and our e-mails cannot be accurately known. That infrastructure stands on an exceedingly complex array of activities that arose from the ingenuity and spontaneous organization of free- market enterprises. But from our perch at the top of this pyramid we need only look down a few layers and see that this resource upon which we depend is vulnerable. There are risks we all assume . . . Matt could get t-boned in an intersection tomorrow. Lightning could strike the pole behind his facility and do catastrophic damage to the hardware. Yours truly could take a deer through the windshield on his way to Wichita some morning. Other risks are less catastrophic. They include things like amateurish behaviors by maintainers of the Internet highway's potholes. Perhaps some material critical to the manufacture of terabyte hard drives dries up. Or maybe the cost of keeping the lights on and the bytes herded become more than Matt can justify given his personal needs for existence. Several times a year I get an opportunity to plant new seeds of thought in the minds of fellow citizens. One of my favorites is to be standing in a long line at Panera's waiting to purchase a bagel and coffee and hear somebody in line complaining about the wait. I suggest to them that to wait in line for a much desired product is a GOOD thing. Not having to wait is a BAD thing if there is not enough business to encourage them to be open tomorrow. It goes without saying that few, if any of us, possess the talents, resources or motivation to step up and do what Matt does. At last count, there were about 1600 individuals who subscribe to this List [Aeroelectric-List]. . . certainly many more make up the population of subscribers to all of the Lists on Matronics. A few years back, Matt was besieged by legal trials and tribulations over the naming of his products . . . seems somebody claimed ownership of the words 'scan' and/or 'scanner' . . . We here on the AeroElectric-List perceived a risk to Matt's operations and came up with several thousands of dollars to contribute to his defense fund. We need make no greater 'investment' in Matt's operations now than it takes to stand in a line for a Quarter-Pounder Combo . . . or a fist full of pencils. You and I can have no more positive influence over the manufacture of pencils and hard drives than to continue to purchase such things and encourage those with the time, talent and resources to continue doing what they do best. Let's contribute to the comfortable maintenance of this service which is probably more valuable than we know. Just a little bit from thousands of us on the Matronics Lists can make a big difference. Bob . . ." Please take a minute to make your Contribution today: http://www.matronics.com/contribution Or, drop a personal check in the mail to: Matt Dralle / Matronics 581 Jeannie Way Livermore CA 94550 USA Thank you for your support! 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